Kakraba Lobi

Ghanese xylophone player, born in Kalba Saru in northern Ghana in 1939; died July 20, 2007 in Accra, Ghana. One of the few masters of the complex Ghanaian percussion instrument gyil (ko-gyil, Kogili), Kakrabi gained international reputation as a concert soloist. In addition to performing throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Kakrabi also lectured to ethnomusicologists at universities worldwide. For over twenty years, he taught at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon. In recent years he collaborated with American percussionist Valerie Dee Naranjo and multi-instrumentalist Barry Olsen. Among Kakraba's scholars was Bengt Berger. The gyil is an ancient xylophone that requires great mastery to play. It is the national instrument of the Dagara and Lobi nations of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.